What makes Pintrest so addictive?

Ever since I’ve begun to use Pintrest or rather even heard about it, I’ve been wondering what the big deal is about this? What’s the big fuss about pinning and re-pinning images of others?

Column Five has created this infographic to examine this Pintrest addiction which seems to have spread like a live-threatening virus.

Beyond this, the company also examines why the Internet culture is so obsessed with pinning. It posits that digital hoarding has a lot to do with it. On Pinterest, we have freedom to create an entire board dedicated to “food” or any other topic that you might favor.

Then there’s the issue of social media fatigue. Is Pinterest just different enough from other social networks that it frees us from ceaseless updates and checkins? Or has it just replaced one obsession with another — a sort of social media gateway drug?

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, PinkTag, Infographic courtesy of Flowtown, via Column Five